So Much Brighter
by theprincess1511
Summary: To commemorate their small moments, humorous arguments and unimaginably adorable schemes, I present to you, the official Percabeth One-Shot Collection!
1. I Spy Pie!

I'm back! Hahahaha been a while hasn't it? I'm so sorry I disappeared off the face of the earth and I hope this makes up for it! Of course what would it be without my amazing beta, Venillashiz?

* * *

Delicious. Scrumptious. Fantastic. Superb. Amazing. _Pie_. Annabeth burped softly as she closed her eyes. The thoughts coiled themselves around her mind, her tongue savoring the last morsel of pumpkin pie as she leaned back on the couch. "Good?"

"Good… good pie." She hummed in response as she snuggled closer to her grinning boyfriend. Percy set down the fork on the plate in front of him and put his arm around Annabeth. As they drifted off to sleep, Percy couldn't help but think that inviting her over for a pie baking secession was the right choice after all. He shook his head as he smirked at the recollection of how he managed to convince Annabeth Chase - honorable hero of the Titan war – to bake pies with him.

* * *

"Pie baking? Seriously?" Annabeth's voice sounded incredulous even over the phone.

"No, I meant spreading fertilizers."

"…"

"Yes! Pie baking!" The receiver slipped off his shoulder slightly, muffling her soft reply.

"What?"

"… I'll go." Percy couldn't help the grin that broke across his face as he punched the air in triumph.

"…ercy."

"Yea. So don't forget, pie baking at 11:30 sharp, ok?" He beamed, giving his mother the thumbs up from his position at the sofa.

"…Ok. I'll see you then." Her soft replies made his elation falter slightly.

"Bye." The line went dead and Percy couldn't help but worry at the fact that her level of enthusiasm over their first date in a long time, was just as rock-bottom low as he had expected it to be. He bit his lip. Nevertheless, he, Percy Jackson was going to make her enjoy – what probably was her first pie baking ever – to the fullest extent.

At least until she had enough of his stupidity and left.

Percy shrugged and scratched his head. He had his full of worries for the day and he sighed as he reclined onto his bed, his head resting softly on his pillow. He'd just have to wait till Sunday to see then. A small smile crept its way onto his lips – Annabeth was so going to be blown away when she found out.

-----------------

She could feel herself sweating profusely as she stood in front of the pleasant yellow door. Worries raged her mind and the scene of Percy laughing at her for her terrible baking skills kept playing through her mind. She must have been standing outside their apartment for almost fifteen minutes now, in her usual neon-orange camp half-blood t-shirt and jeans, a frown on her face.

Annabeth sighed as another weird look from one of the neighbors flashed her way. _Not so friendly a neighborhood either_, she thought bitterly.

She lifted her hand to knock on the door when a muffled laugh came from the other side. Annabeth's frown deepened. _Was this a joke?_ Another muffled giggle sounded from behind the door and Annabeth was beginning to get angry. _Was Percy trying to play some kind of cruel joke on her?_

"You better wipe that smirk off your face, Seaweed Brain, or I will," she growled, turning to glare at yet another spying neighbor. The curtains behind her were drawn but Annabeth could still feel their gazes sending waves of disdain through their peepholes.

She banged on the door again, silencing another snicker. "Open the door Percy! You know what, let me kick it open!" She swung up her leg, ready to swing it at the door when it opened with a soft click.

She was greeted by a familiar smirk on her boyfriend's face. Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him when he laughed at her foot inches from his face. "What are you doing? Tai-chi outside my door?" He snickered again.

"Haha, oh you're so funny Percy." She swung her leg, knocking him under his jaw and sending him reeling back into the wall. Annabeth sniggered, poking her tongue out at him and straightening her shirt. "Too bad I'm not in the mood for funny."

"I don't know what I see in you." Percy muttered as he closed the door and wrapped an arm around her waist. Bending slightly, he pressed his lips against her cheek.

Annabeth smiled as she turned to face him, her bag slipping from her fingers and landing with a dull thud onto the floor. Lacing her fingers through his, she lifted her face, feeling Percy's hand snake up her arm to tangle in her hair. Annabeth could feel him grin against her lips as he pulled her face closer to his.

Annabeth couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips as they broke apart. Picking her bag up, she slung it over her shoulder. "So where can I put this?"

"This way, my lady." Percy grabbed the bag out of her hands, and swung it by the handles. Annabeth rolled her eyes and followed after him, grinning. Percy opened the first door on his left and held it open for Annabeth. Peering inside, she raised her eyebrows at the turquoise walls and dark blue bed. His walls were decorated with tiny seashells and the window tinted a slight green.

Annabeth stepped inside. She couldn't help but giggle at the owl beanie she had given him on his birthday the year before, resting on his bed. Annabeth turned around when she heard the door shut quietly and the soft thump of her bag hitting the floor.

She couldn't help but gasp in surprise when Percy pulled her roughly against him. Pushing him back, Percy's knees hit the edge of his bed and their bodies, intertwined, landed roughly on the neatly made dark blue sheets. Grinning at the fact that they were now the same height, she closed the small distance between them.

The sharp knock on the door made the both of them jump in shock. Pushing Percy away, Annabeth called, "Yea?"

Sally Jackson was clearly smiling as she called back. "Hi Annabeth dear, can I come in?"

"N-"

"Sure Mrs Jackson! Come on in." She sent a glare at Percy before whipping back to grin at his mom.

"Hi honey, it's been such a long time." Sally Jackson walked over and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. She let go of Annabeth, holding her at arms length. "So are we making pies or babies here?"

Annabeth could feel the bood rush to her head as she blushed to the roots of her hair. "We…we weren't…we…I-" She clamped her mouth shut as Mrs Jackson laughed and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, let's bake some pies!" Annabeth turned to look back at Percy who stood beaming with his hands in his pockets. He shrugged at her puzzled look and poked his tongue at her.

* * *

"So you can just knead the dough like that…yea, and just keep doing that…Knead the dough into balls…no! Not like that, balls Annabeth, _balls_, not those lumps, that one looks like a hydra for Zeus' sake!"

Annabeth looked up, frustrated, "Have you even tried this? It's frigging hard!" She yelled back at Percy who crossed his arms.

"Well, actually, I have tried it. And believe it or not, I can do ten times a better job than you." He shoved her hands out of the way, and grabbed the misshapen pieces of dough. Annabeth watched in awe as Percy kneaded the dough with the expertise of a professional.

"Ok, it's done. You see?" He pointed to the little lumps of dough on the table. "It's not as hard as it looks." He grinned, "Even a monkey can do it."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Seaweed Brain, I think your head's getting too heavy for that skinny body of yours."

Percy frowned, "Lean, Annabeth, _lean_. Not skinny." He glanced at the table full of ingredients. "Come on let's continue, the pie isn't going to bake itself. Zeus knows how scary that will be."

They laughed and Annabeth walked around the table to prepare the crust for the filling. "So, Kelp Face, any ideas on what we're gonna do for the next-" She glanced at her watch, "-half an hour?"

Percy grinned, "I'm sure we could think of something."

* * *

The door opened fifteen minutes later and through their second game of scrabble. Who would've known that two dyslectics would choose to play the only game they both couldn't win. Annabeth scoffed at the thought that three quarters of the words on the scrabble board were probably alien to anyone but themselves. Mrs Jackson had walked over, taken one look at the game and walked away, shaking her head.

"Alright kids, I've got the things we need for the stuffing. Just choose what type of pie you want, I've got apple, lemon, blackberry, blueberry, pumpkin and cherry."

Annabeth grinned, "I'll have the apple, thanks!"

"And I guess Percy will take the pumpkin? Honey?"

"Yea, thanks mom."

Annabeth crinkled her nose, as Mrs Jackson started humming and finishing up their pies. "You like pumpkin pie?"

"Yea, what's wrong with that?"

"No, nothing, I just can't imagine why anyone would be willing to go through such immense self-torture to eat a pie. I mean, pumpkin looks like mashed potato that has been left in a sewer for months and then soaked in pee. How else could anything look that awful shade of orange?" She shuddered at the thought.

Percy looked aghast. "It does not! How can you say that about pumpkin? Don't discriminate against vegetables, Annabeth!"

"Pumpkins are fruits you idiot, they're part of the gourd family." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"I don't care what family they're from or who their aunts and uncles are, I still like them!" Percy argued back indignantly.

Annabeth's jaw dropped, "You know, Seaweed Brain, out of all the stupid things you've said – and Zeus knows that there're _so many _things that you've said – that was by far the most ridiculously pathetic statement ever."

Percy chose wisely to ignore her statement as he picked up a fork. Annabeth scoffed,."Is that your weapon of choice?"

"No, I'm going to prove you wrong. C'mere." He waved her over to where their pies were sitting on the table top, steaming and smelling like heaven.

He poked the fork into the pumpkin pie, pulling a small chunk out of the centre. Annabeth watched as he swung around to face her. She backed away as he pushed to fork towards her, the pie quivering as it neared her face.

"Nonononono. _Percy._"

"Come on Annabeth, try the pie," he stopped abruptly, fork drifting in midair. "Heh, that rhymed."

"Percy, move away. The pie reeks ok? I can smell it. I can smell it from here! _Percy_!" Annabeth held her hands in front of her as she backed up against the wall.

"Go awa-ack!" She gagged as he stuffed the pie into her mouth.

Percy watched as Annabeth's face went through something of a humorous change. Her eyes widened then closed into slits. She closed her mouth slowly and he heard her swallow hard then she licked her lips slowly.

"…I don't think I got the full flavor, maybe I should try another piece?" She questioned tentatively, a hesitant smile widening on her face.

Percy couldn't help but crack a smile as well, before howling with laughter. "You should have seen your face! Hah! I knew it!" He grinned before skipping to cut a slice of both the two pies on the table.

Annabeth wiped her mouth as she moved to sit down, sharing a glance with Percy. "You've…never actually tried pumpkin pie before have you?"

"…ha…nope." Percy grinned as he sat down heavily next to her on the couch.

"I should have known. Here." He picked up the fork and fed her another piece of the pie.

"Mmmm…"

* * *

"Good pie…." She murmured again in her sleep. Percy grinned as he bent to press a light kiss to her lips.

Annabeth cracked open an eye to look at him sleepily. "Percy?"

"Yea, Annabeth?"

"Let's bake some blue pies next time."

* * *

And that's the end! Wait for the up coming one-shot! And please do drop a review on the way out, they make my day. Thanks! :D


	2. The incident in the shower

And it's one-shot number 2! Thanks for all the great reviews :D thanks again to Venillashiz, the best beta any one can ask for!

* * *

The late afternoon sun was staring to set and the pinkish-orange glow of the sky was a perfect picture to mark the end of their surfing lesson. Percy swept a hand through his damp hair as he looked over to where his girlfriend was pulling her surfboard out of the water. The waves swirled around his feet, ticking his toes as they seemed to pull him deeper into the ocean.

Percy slowly waded over to where Annabeth was still struggling with her surfboard, digging his toes into the sand and kicking at the seashells. He deftly pulled it out in a neat sweep and tucked it under one arm. Clasping her hand in the other, he pulled her along merrily. "C'mon, let's get going."

The cool breeze swept his wet hair, plastering it to his face as he returned her dark green board. Smiling, he turned around to grab her by the arms and swung her around to hang on his back. Annabeth instinctively clamped her thighs around his waist as she giggled.

Bending her head to peck him on the cheek, she smiled. "So, where to now?"

Percy stepped over a destroyed sandcastle as he answered. "How about going home for a quick shower before I surprise you with the best dinner ever?"

"Only if it's the best!" Annabeth nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers fiddling with the small beads on his Camp Half-blood necklace.

"My place, then." He supported her with one arm, the other moving to pull a zip lock bag out of his pocket. Droplets of water slid off the clear plastic as he pulled it open with the help of his teeth. Percy grabbed his car keys and pressed down on the remote as they neared the dark blue Audi.

Annabeth hopped off him and slid into the car just as Percy opened the door. He walked over to the other side and got in, pulling a shirt over his head before starting the engine and driving off.

* * *

"Mom?" The door opened and Percy walked into the apartment, his surfboard in one arm, holding the door for Annabeth with the other.

Looking around the empty house, Annabeth turned, raising an eyebrow. "I thought your mom was here? I brought the pictures she wanted." She pulled a thick album labeled 'Camp photos' out of her haversack.

Percy glanced at the album warily before shrugging, "I thought so too." He, closed the door with a soft thud.

"Well I guess she went to pick up something, she'll probably be back soon though, no worries."

He set his surfboard carefully in a closet to the right of the door and dumped his keys on the table beside it. "Ok, let's just clean up before she gets back, you can take a bath in my toilet, you've got your stuff in there anyway."

Annabeth nodded and grabbed a change of clothes from her bag before heading to his room. Percy took his watch off while pulling a towel along. He smiled as he heard the click on the lock on a door, and entered the toilet on the left of his mother's bedroom.

* * *

Percy whistled cheerily as he shook his hair dry, collecting all the water in one small suspended sphere. Entering his room, he relieved himself of his towel and pulled his clothes on. Sitting down on his bed, he lay back, tucking his hands beneath his head as he stared at the ceiling. The comfort of the cool breeze hitting his face from the window and the softness of the down sheets beneath him seemed almost too much for an exhausted teenage boy and his eyelids began to droop.

"Percy!"

The scream shocked him out of his semi-conscious state and he clutched his pocket, feeling for his trusty pen, his eyelids jumping open. Sitting up at the speed of light, he was at the toilet door in no time. Banging with his fist twice he pressed his ear to the small gap. "Annabeth? What's wrong? Annabeth?"

The lack of response and the loud clang of metal on metal was too much for his paranoia and he burst through the door, ready for the worst.

The scream he heard was even more piercing than the one before, and he looked around just in time to see Annabeth attempt to cover herself with an incredibly undersized towel. Percy couldn't help but stop to appreciate exactly how good she looked in anything, or in this case, nothing.

With droplets of water cascading down her tanned shoulders and her skin flushed and her cheeks tinted pink, he had to admit, the women on Olympus looked like posers next to her. Now that's what he called a_ goddess_.

A clank on his head sent him reeling into the wall and Percy looked up to a very embarrassed and slightly pissed off Annabeth. "What in Hades are you doing?!"

Percy couldn't help but smirk, "Admiring the view." He ducked just in time to avoid the bar of soap that went flying at his head with very good aim.

"Ok, ok! I'm kidding! You screamed didn't you?! I came in here to save you!" He crossed his arms and stood to his full height. Looking around, he squinted. "So where's the boogey man?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Shut up, Seaweed Brain." She pointed to the metal cap on the floor. "The shower broke, that's why I called you. Of course, I didn't expect you to barge in here and go all _pervy_ on me."

He had the dignity to blush and simply turned his back to her and bent down to busy himself with the metal cap. Annabeth grinned and picked up the towel she left hanging on the rack. Wrapping herself tightly with it, she jumped slightly when Percy cursed loudly.

"What?"

"The whole shower head broke off!"

"So?"

"What do you mean so?!"

"Fix it!"

Percy looked at her incredulously, "What do I look like to you, a… a professional shower-fixer-guy?"

"Hello? Aren't you like, Mr Oh-I'm-the-all-powerful-son-of Poseidon?"

"Yea, hi, did you forget I had control over water, not metal shower heads?"

"…" Annabeth bit her lip. "So it's beyond repair?"

Percy sighed, "Well, not exactly, but my mum's gonna kill us. Well, me, since she loves you more than she loves her own son. " Then his eyebrows rose, "How did you break this thing off anyway?" Annabeth blushed as she looked away, the distinct memory over what had had happened still fresh in her mind.

* * *

_The door slammed shut and she clicked the lock. Pulling the oversized neon-orange t-shirt over her head, she dropped it and kicked off her shorts, leaving them in a puddle on the floor next to her bag. Slipping out of her swim suit, Annabeth pulled open the shower curtain and turned the tap._

_Annabeth couldn't help but sigh as the warm water hit her skin, washing away all the sand and the tinge of salt on her body. Squeezing the shower gel onto her palm, she lathered herself and rinsed._

_It was then that she spotted_ it_. There it was, right on the wall, the size of her eye. Annabeth's breath caught as she stared at the spider, watching one of it's many legs twitch as it tried to avoid the water droplets. She could feel the blood pounding in her veins as she stared at the ugly, revolting thing._

_Then time sped up again and she grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on and flung it at the spider. It scuttled across the wall, narrowly avoiding the stream of objects bouncing off the tiles behind it. The spider jumped off the wall and Annabeth's heart practically stopped as she threw herself out of the shower. With jets of water shooting everywhere, she stepped onto the cold marble floor, immediately slipping on the water that had gathered there._

_Throwing an arm out, she caught hold of the shower head, grasping onto it for dear life as she belted out curses at the spider that had crawled out the bathroom window. Unfortunately, the shower head was built to spray water and not to support the weight of a seventeen year old half-blood and the metal began to bend and break off, sending water splashing in all directions. Annabeth shrieked as she fell, screaming the first and only name that came to mind. _

"_PERCY!"_

* * *

Percy grinned at his blushing girlfriend as she turned away. "I'm not telling you!"

"Alright, whatever helps you sleep at night," he snickered as she rubbed her cranium.

"Ok, you find a way to fix this and I'll go put some clothes on, before I catch pneumonia or something." She rolled her eyes and stood up, adjusting her towel.

Percy's eyes widened in horror just as she made her first step toward the door. "No, wait Annab-" He lunged forward as she stepped on the puddle on the floor, her foot flying up as she fell backwards.

Throwing himself behind her, Percy caught her in time to cushion her fall. They lay in silence for a few seconds before peeling their eyes open.

Annabeth looked down to see Percy staring up at her, his eyebrow raised, "Soooo… I'm guessing this is one of the things that contributed to the broken shower head?"

Annabeth laughed. "Yea, I guess you could say that."

Percy tightened his grip around her, almost protectively. "I should really watch you more. You know, to stop you from getting into this kind of trouble. I mean, imagine if I hadn't been here, you could have cracked your pretty blonde head open."

Annabeth grinned. "I guess you should then." She leant down and kissed him, only to look up again, surprised when his didn't respond.

"Annabeth, I think we've got more problems than that broken shower head." She followed his line of vision and turned around, almost fainting from embarrassment at the sight of Sally Jackson standing at the door, her mouth wide open and her cheeks tinted red.

Annabeth groaned – her boyfriend's mother had just seen her kissing her son on the floor of his wet bathroom, clad in only a pink-poka-dotted towel. Life couldn't have gotten any worse than this.

* * *

Please do review, I'd love to update again and I really can't do that if I don't have enough encouragement, just about say…15 reviews would be great! Thanks! Hahaha


	3. Feelin' Blue?

A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter might be a little below par, but i tied my best and i hope you guys enjoy it! And once again, i couldn't have done it without the help of my dedicated beta, Venillashiz!

* * *

It was a bright and sunny Monday morning and the occupants of Camp Half-blood were resting in their beds, only to be woken by a shrill scream that broke through the calm and pristine atmosphere.

Percy had broken through the door of Annabeth's private room to find her in the corner, a towel over her head. Fearing the worse, he rushed to her side. "Annabeth? What's wrong, tell me!"

Annabeth looked up at him, her face red, with hot, angry tears leaking out of her eyes. Slowly, she pulled off the towel, "Look!"

He stared. He gasped. He… rolled on the floor, laughing and clutching his stomach. "Your hair! It's… it's blue!"

Annabeth groaned, "I know! I can't believe them!" She aimed an angry kick at Percy's stomach.

He stopped laughing, gasping for air as he asked, "Them who?"

Annabeth looked angry for a moment before her expression turned to one of frustration. "I'm not sure exactly, but I kinda narrowed it down. I mean, who else could it be?" She crossed her arms, "It's either the Stoll brothers or… the Aphrodite cabin."

"And what makes you think that? It could be anyone, you know." Percy leaned against the wall, trying his best to control his laughter.

Annabeth stood up and started pacing, the towel slipping out of her hands. "Yes, well, the Stoll brothers are definitely in, because they mess with everyone and the Aphrodite cabin…"

"What about them?"

Annabeth blushed, and turned on her heel, pacing in the opposite direction, "They're just on the list because they don't like me."

Percy was puzzled, he knew Annabeth had always been suspicious of the Aphrodite cabin after Silena passed away, but that was beyond reasonable. Then again, she had her reasons. He looked at her – her electric blue hair in a birds' nest piled on her head, with tuffs of her natural blonde sticking out, her eyes slightly red from the crying, and one of the most scheming expressions he had seen on a living thing on her face. Percy sighed, good thing only he had seen that face, Zeus know how many grannies she could have shocked into heart attacks with that.

Annabeth mumbled to herself as she thought of ways to get back at whoever had done this humiliating thing to her. She clutched at her hair, wanting to cry again. How could they do this to her?! I mean, they could mess with her clothes of her food, but did it have to be _the hair_? That was the only part of her body she actually liked, and she knew that was Percy's favorite as well.

Annabeth gritted her teeth, _whichever low-life that did this to her was gonna _pay.

* * *

"Are you sure you wanna wear that?" Percy looked at her oddly, eyeing her up and down.

"This has to remain a total secret Percy, do you have any idea how embarrassing this is for me?!" She hissed as she tucked her hair into the overly large cap he had lent her.

"Do you think that scream this morning was subtle in any way? The rest of the country probably heard it, for Zeus' sake! The whole camp probably knows something's up. They're not stupid, the_y_'ll figure it out," Percy touched a finger to her cap. "Besides, you can just dye it back right?"

"Wrong! Don't you think you're giving the people who did this too little credit? Whoever thought of this wasn't stupid, Percy, they used Aphrodite's irreversible hair color!" She growled as she dug her nails into the hand she was holding.

Percy clamped a hand to his mouth, trying to stem his laughter. "They have such a thing?"

Annabeth sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. And there's no way to reverse it unless I get the anti-color shampoo, which happens to come with the pack!"

"So why don't you just go buy one?"

"First of all, it costs a totally pointless 100 drachma. And second of all, they don't just give it out freely, Seaweed brain, that's partially another reason why I suspect the Aphrodite cabin." Percy's eyes widened.

"Wow, you really have done your research haven't you?" He patted her head, pulling her to the door. "Ok, let's go catch these losers." Annabeth smiled, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Thalia knew something was off with her friends the moment they entered the dining area. She had them cornered in a second. "So, how long is it going to take you guys to tell me what's going on?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and Percy gulped, "What d-do you mean Thalia?"

"You see, Percy, I don't like to know that my friends are keeping secrets from me, eh, _friend._" She pinpointed them with her eyelinered glare.

"Oh…well, it's fine then, since, we're clearly _not _hiding anything from you. Heh heh." Percy forced a grin on his face patting Thalia on the shoulder. "Don't you worry, it's got nothing to do with you."

"Hmm… nothing? So who's gonna explain to me why Annabeth looks like she shaved herself bald?" She sent a glance at the large cap covering Annabeth's hair.

"I'm not bald and we'll let you in on our plan if you keep mum about it, cool?" Annabeth rolled her eyes.

Thalia grinned, "Cool." She leant in, tucking her hair back for Annabeth to whisper into her ear.

Her eyes widened and she whipped around to stare at Annabeth. "Are you shitting me?!" She grabbed the cap and yanked it up slightly, gaping at the blue tuffs of hair sticking out from beneath it. "No wayyy."

Thalia gritted her teeth, growling in the direction of the Aphrodite table, "I'm going to murder them. No one messes with my Annabeth's hair and get's away with it." She turned on her booted heel and started to head towards the pink and glitter-studded table when Annabeth yanked her back.

"Oh no, you don't! Let's not be too rash?" Annabeth attempted a smile as she rearranged her cap.

"Yea, and you stole my line, dude!" Percy grumbled as he crossed his arms. "Annabeth's _mine._"

Annabeth rolled her eyes but her cheeks were tinted with pink as she looked away. "So here's what we're gonna do…"

* * *

Connor Stoll backed away slowly, his hands up in a defensive position, his brother directly behind him. "Uhhh… guys, you wanna like, chill a bit? What's with the swords huh? Perce, come on bro, put the pen down man, I don't know if you forgot, but it turns into a really sharp knife!"

"Sword." Percy growled as he advanced forward, Thalia on his left and Annabeth on his right.

"Now, now Connor, Travis, let's not argue any longer. You see, I woke up this morning, and I thought to myself, _since when did I have blue hair?_!" Annabeth's octave climbed higher and higher as she stepped forward, cornering the brothers into a small area.

Travis gulped as he backed against the wall of a cabin. "Blue? Wh-why would you have blue hair? Really Annabeth, I liked you better as a blondie."

"Oh yea? So did I!" She whipped her knife out, pressing it's golden tip to his neck. "So I came up with a couple of suspects who might have found the idea of ruining my life for the fun of it interesting and guess whose names kept coming up, over. And over. And over. Again." She punctuated each word with a step closer to him until they were almost nose to nose considering Travis was the shorter of the brothers.

His breath started coming out in short gasps and he turned to send a desperate glance at his brother who was pinned at the wall by Thalia. Percy simply stood to the side, leaning casually against the wall, admiring the aftermath of his girlfriend's work.

"Ok! Ok! The Aphrodite cabin paid us to sneak the dye into your shampoo ok? Geeze…" Connor clutched his chest, "Gonna give me a heart attack."

Percy laughed, "Yea, she does have that effect doesn't she?" He glanced fondly at Annabeth who smirked, removing her knife from Travis' neck.

"Ok, so now on to our revenge?" Percy suggested hopefully.

"Already taken care of that." Annabeth grinned. She turned her head towards the high pitched squeals and shrieks coming from a cabin to their left. Turning the corner, Percy saw Aphrodite cabin members running around waving their arms around wildly, screaming at the top of their lungs. He burst into laughter at the sight of their bright orange skin, hair and clothes.

Throwing an arm around Annabeth, he picked her up, swinging her around. "Did I ever tell you how amazing you were? And how much I love your diabolical, creepy, and amazingly well-planned schemes?"

Annabeth grinned, "It wouldn't hurt for you to mention it a little bit more."

Pulling off her hat, he pressed his lips to hers, both of them completely oblivious to the mayhem going on around them.


	4. Date With A Pegasus

Thanks again to my wonderful beta who stuck with me through, Venillashiz.

The wind whooshed past her ears as they hurtled downwards, like a small torpedo heading straight for the inevitable doom of the sharp rocks below. And just a split-second before what seemed like the end, the Pegasus spread its wings wide open.

Annabeth's breath caught in her throat as they veered up abruptly, the sudden force of the wind nearly throwing her off the back of her newly-found friend. The wind in hair and the feeling of weightlessness was fantastic, after the few hours of being cooped up in a prison with practically no ventilation system and the condemning darkness.

She had never felt so free before – Pegasus rides were usually a mixture of screaming, threatening and holding on really tight. Annabeth smiled; she totally understood how Percy felt when he took those midnight rides on Blackjack – the feeling that you could let go of everything and just relax, leaving all your troubles behind, even if just for a little while.

Time seemed to slow along with the beating of his heart as he watched the speck fall off the crumbling tower. Percy gripped his sword as he watched helplessly, the pain eating him from the inside out as he watched her fall.

Then he gasped, the speck that was Annabeth suddenly swooped up and for a second he wondered if she really was the angel he'd always felt she was. But as it grew larger and larger, he saw that it was indeed his girlfriend, on the back of a pink Pegasus.

He let out a breath he hadn't noticed that he'd been holding and stepped back as the Pegasus whooshed up in front of him, its wings flapping heavily and it's shoulders sagged with exhaustion. Annabeth on the other hand, was practically glowing as she slid off, landing neatly on the ground. "That. Was. Epic." was all she could say as she rushed to give him a squeeze.

"Percy, I was wondering if you could introduce us?"

His eyebrows rose, stuttering, "Intr-introduce? You and the Pegasus?" He looked at the pink Pegasus and his eyes widened.

"You and Locket?"

"Her name's Locket?" Annaabeth smiled. "Cool!" She stepped forward to pat and combed a hand through Locket's mane.

"Locket," she repeated, as though weighing it. She tiptoed suddenly and whispered something in Locket's ear. Percy couldn't help but be surprised at what she said and the fact that she said it.

"Will you be my Pegasus?"

Annabeth wasn't exactly an enthusiast when it came to things created by or associated with water and that took Percy by a tidal wave of surprise. Then again, he had the feeling that he was getting smarter and maybe he had rubbed off on her too. He shrugged to himself as he swung himself onto Blackjack's back. They were both safe, and the least of his worries were over.

"Wait, you want me to do what?!" Percy took a step backwards from the wild, quivering mess of anger in front of him.

He ran a hand through his hair, "Well… I know it's a bit odd but-"

"Oh no. Nonononono. Helping Thalia dye her hair, that's odd. Cleaning the Olympus toilets with honey, that's odd. But this! Percy, _this is stupid_! You want me to match-make a Pegasus. _A Pegasus, _Percy." She growled, turning on her heel.

He grabbed her wrist before she could leave the kitchen. "Aww…come on Annabeth, please? If not for him, then for me?" He pleaded, putting on his best 'please, I love you' look.

Annabeth looked away, her blonde ponytail whipping into his face. "Percy. You are asking me to set a Pegasus up with _my_ Pegasus, and then watch over their 'date' which you want me to plan? You know what's the worst? This horse date happens to take place on the day we were going out!" She prodded at his chest with an outstretched finger. "So _you_ tell _me_, what you think I should say."

Percy looked at her sheepishly; he did forget about their plans. I mean, he wouldn't have planned things that way if he had known. He smiled weakly, "Yes?"

"No!"

"Please! I promised Blackjack. For me? Please Annabeth?"

She frowned and turned away. "Fine, but you owe me! A lot."

Percy grinned and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you. And I'll make it up to you. I promise."

She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering as they closed. "You'd better."

Gripping the back of his shirt, she buried her face in his chest, breathing in deeply as he kissed the top of her head. "I don't even know how to ship hay from France." She mumbled through his shirt.

Percy laughed as stepped back slightly, his arms still firmly around her waist. "I knew you'd be the only person to take this so seriously."

Annabeth glared slightly, "That better be a compliment."

"It is." He bent his head to meet her lips softly, muffling whatever retort she was going to give in reply. Annabeth sighed slightly as she gripped the fronts of his shirt, pulling him further down, tiptoeing at the same time. He grinned into their kiss before breaking apart for air.

"Let's hope we don't see any of that from Blackjack." He laughed lightly as she whacked him softly before grabbing his hand to lead them out of the kitchen.

"Come on, let's go plan this date before the lava completely melts my hands off." She threw the mutilated rubber gloves she had been wearing into a corner, wrinkling her nose at the stack of plates that remained un-lavaed.

If you walked far enough into Camp Half-Blood, making it past the dragon that guarded the entrance, and making it past Clarisse's fifth electric spear, you'd arrive at the beach. It was beautiful – that beach. The golden sand, the glistening, clear, blue water with the breathtaking view of the marine life in it.

And if you looked to the right, you'd notice a small shrub lying in the middle of nowhere. Looking hard enough, you'd be able to notice that bush move every once in a while, the occasional sneeze or cough coming from it.

There happened to be a small opening in that shrub and it was conveniently placed in a manner where it faced the two pegasi standing not too far off in the distance, their heads bent low. Of course, no one seemed to notice the pair of shiny black binoculars protruding ever so slightly from that opening either, or at least, they pretended not to.

When the sun was low in the sky and the light blue had changed to an orangey-pink, and everyone had left, save for the pegasi, and the ever watchful bush, a tanned hand suddenly made its way out that said shrub.

The hand waved around slightly before another joined it. This time the hand was smaller, slimmer and slapped its partner hard enough to make a rock scream in pain. An angry yelp sounded from within the bush and in a matter of two seconds, a pair of bodies tumbled out in a jumble of arms and legs.

Percy groaned as he grabbed Annabeth and rolled the both of them behind a tree. "Can't let Locket see us, remember?" he whispered into her ear and she nodded as much as she could considering she was currently pinned down by him.

A soft neigh caught their attention and Annabeth looked up, shoving Percy away. She elbow-crawled her way to the next tree. Whipping a watch out from the back pocket of her dark, army patterned, cargo pants, she breathed into it. "Ok Travis, cue the music."

The earpiece in her left ear cackled to life, _"Remind me again why we're doing this?"_

Annabeth laughed lightly as the air around them suddenly overflowed with romantic music. "Because I will pummel you to death and then fail your cabin for inspection if you don't."

_"Geeze...remind me not to cross you, will you? And where'd you get all this spy stuff anyway?"_ Connor's voice sounded through the speaker.

"I stole it. Why?" She signaled for Percy to join her behind the tree and laughed as he made his way clumsily across.

_"What are you? Some kinda ninja-smart-ass-assassin?_" Annabeth winced as the Stoll brothers' voices yelled in sync.

"Well if I were, you'd both be dead since I'm still not seeing the lights and the fountain turn on!" She growled as she swatted Percy's hand away from her messy heap if hair.

The fountain that had magically appeared two hours ago, glimmered as the colourful lights twinkled around it. Annabeth gasped as the beach around them lighted up magically. She might have watched the lights being put up but she hadn't pictured them being so beautiful. The surprised neigh that echoed behind them told her those sentiments were shared.

This time, she allowed the familiar warm arms to wrap around her and pull her closer to their owner. The sigh that escaped her lips was a mix of happiness and exhaustion and she leaned back into Percy, allowing his warmth to wash over her, relaxing her tired muscles.

Percy's arms tightened around her and she smiled. "Yeah?"

"Looks like Blackjack just got lucky. Locket's impressed." He pointed at the retreating backs of the two Pegasi, black and pink, a surprisingly good match, Annabeth thought.

"I think she's happy." Annabeth grinned, leaning her head back on Percy's shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure they both are." He scrunched his nose in concentration. "Yep, they're happy. _Elated_."

Annabeth whacked his knee, "Leave 'em alone." She glanced at him and continued, "And I distinctly remember someone saying that they'd make it up to me for picking the day of our date to match-make a couple of Pegasi. You might happen to know him? My really good-looking yet idiot of a boyfriend?"

"You think I'm good-looking?" was his excited reply.

"Gotta have something to make up for your complete lack of brains." Percy pouted.

"Fine. Go ahead and mock my stupidity. I'll just forget about the plans I came up with for our date."

"You made plans for us?" Annabeth was stunned, Percy wasn't the forward planning sort – he was more of the procrastinating kind.

"Yea, and at the rate you're going, you're never gonna know what they are." He turned his head away but left his arms wrapped tightly around her.

An un-Annabeth-like giggle escaped her lips and she twisted in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his head towards hers.

"Would a little convincing work?" She wasn't going to wait for his answer. Leaning in, she captured his lips in a heated kiss, pulling his head down and shifting even closer – if it was even possible at that point.

Annabeth could feel Percy smile through their kiss and she broke away, her breathing slightly laboured as she leaned back into his chest. They sat in a comfortable silence before he broke it.

"I think I'm gonna need a bit more convincing than that."


End file.
